How to create a secure password
Most people, legal professionals included, make up terrible passwords. We know this because, after major hacks of big name websites, details of the passwords used are often revealed to the public. After one such hack, it was revealed that the most common three passwords were “123456,” “password,” and “12345678.” It’s okay, though. It’s not as […]
New eFiling formatting rules in California: What you need to know
Following a series of recently announced changes to the California Rules of Court you may soon need to change how you’re preparing documents to adhere to new eFiling formatting rules. In October, the Judicial Council of California published several rule changes and amendments to come into effect on January 1, 2017. Several relate to the […]
How to correct OCR errors using Adobe Acrobat
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to just OCR, is the process of converting image files containing letters and words (such as scans or photographs) into searchable, text-based documents. Now that the eFiling rules in many states, for example in California and Texas, require that electronically filed submissions (including exhibits) be text searchable, it’s important to […]
How to make a PDF text searchable
It’s long been best practice to ensure that the PDF documents you file electronically with the court are text searchable. That’s because one can navigate searchable documents by looking up specific words and phrases, add markup (like comments) to specific sections, and copy and paste individual blocks of text. The result is a much more […]
How to correctly redact a PDF using Adobe Acrobat
Redaction — the permanent deletion of data from documents — used to be really simple. In the past, thick permanent marker pens were used to black out the information. These days, especially now that eFiling means that many documents need never be printed out, that process doesn’t make sense. It is slow, inefficient, and unnecessarily […]
5 time-saving tools and services all law firms need to know about
Do your days feel like they’re whizzing past, leaving you with little more than a much longer to-do list? In busy, always-on-the-go professions like the law, it can often feel like there’s no let-up. However, there are legal professionals out there who have unlocked the secrets of productivity and time management. We all know them […]
[New ebook] Are you prepared for eFiling at a court near you?
The fact is that eFiling is rapidly becoming a reality in state courts through the US, including California’s superior courts. Right now in California, eFiling is available in 15 courts but during 2017 it’s very likely that more than half of all of the state’s county-level courts, including massive cities like Los Angeles, will have […]
5 quick tips for educating your office about cyber security
When it comes to learning about cyber security, the first thing you notice is that there are a lot of threats out there. Sometimes the tools you use will be to blame. Other times (some might even say most times) it is down to human error. In other words, it’s you. In fact, of the […]
Simple ways to start preparing for eFiling in your law office
Originally published July 5, 2016. Updated October 25, 2016. The days of filing paper documents at courthouses in California are numbered. That’s because electronic court filing, the uploading, and submission of documents to a court in electronic form, is rapidly becoming the new standard. That’s because courts across California are clambering to take advantage of the […]
5 steps to getting serious about law firm cyber security
Law firms have a clear duty of care with respect to the sensitive information they hold about their clients and the matters they’re working on. Last week, as part of our contribution to Cyber Security Awareness Month, we wrote about the seriousness of the cybercrime threat facing law firms. In particular, we noted that one […]
Electronic court filing — the most frequently asked questions
State courts are increasingly following the example of the federal courts and moving to require electronic filing. Just look at the changes underway in the nation’s two largest states, Texas and California. In Texas, it will soon be mandatory to eFile in every local court in the state while, in California, 12 superior courts currently […]
7 common habits of very punctual people
A study by researchers at San Francisco State University once found that 20% of Americans are chronically late — and, according to recent surveys, it’s something that is increasingly common among the younger generation It’s not necessarily that the chronically late don’t respect other people’s time, though. Diane DeLonzor, the lead researcher for the San […]
Why all law firms need to worry about cyber attacks
Cyber attacks have been in the news a lot lately, with data breaches at major companies and tales of hacked emails regularly featuring on the nightly news. The simple fact is that cyber crime is on a sharp rise. This increase matters for legal professionals because law firms are very often the guardians of oodles […]
Why you need to remove metadata from your court filings
Consider this scenario: you’re preparing to file a financial disclosure in a divorce case. To protect your client’s confidentiality, you’ve dutifully removed all of their bank details, their social security number, and so on from the Word document. You deleted it, so it’s gone permanently, right? Not so fast! It doesn’t take much digging on […]
27 technology terms every legal professional should know
If you don’t know your EFMs from your EFSPs, talk of “the cloud” leaves you wondering if people are discussing the weather, or “phishing” seems like something one ought to do with a rod and reel then this post is for you! It’s true that technology can sometimes appear to be advancing so fast that […]
How to produce “court-friendly” PDFs
The rapid introduction of electronic filing in courts across the U.S. means that it is now increasingly likely that court documents will only be read digitally. Some digital documents are easier for the courts to handle than others, however. What are the key features of a “court friendly” filing? The courts require documents submitted to […]